DocAndersen
Ah Paris, the city of lights. I’ve had the pleasure of going to Paris some times. It is not the most friendly city. If you are looking for people that are just nice, as you the city Paris is not that place. There is a certain distance that people in Paris often have. On this particular trip, from which the pictures are from, I remember landing. I landed shortly after the US invaded Iraq. That was not a popular move in France. My cab driver lectured me to the hotel. I understand that France has a historic debt that the US owed once. There would be no USA without France taking the brunt of the English Military during the Revolutionary War We could argue that the Colonies would have eventually won their freedom.
But France made it happen much faster by forcing the English to fight a two-front war. One front with a 4000 mile supply chain made for a faster end to the revolutionary war. I get and understand that debt. I think it is critical to point out; however, that France without US funds would not have recovered from the devastation of WWI. France without direct US invention supporting the Allies, and the Marshall plan after the war, would not have recovered from the deviation that was WWII. If you look economically, there would be few nations in Europe that exist now, without the economic restoration that the Marshall plan provided after WWII.
Based on that the debt is paid. I can honestly say that I once pretended to be from Canada when visiting France. That was the very last time I went o Paris, and in pretending I was Canadian, the cold and distant people were friendly and nice. That bothered me a little, but I do understand the frustration of the cab driver as well that day. I just wish he had asked me if I supported the US position. I didn’t, but he never asked. The reality of the world is there are two sides. My father taught me that. I always try to understand both sides. I suspect had the driver stopped for a moment and talent he time to hear what I was saying, he would have stopped. When you are nasty to someone, they don’t ever forget that!
Inside looking up? How high does it go?
it is around 400 feet tall.
A great shot here, wow!
My wife has video going up and video going back down. Plus a picture of the tower behind her!
Video would be cool to see.
I will see if I can find it.
My wife has video going up and video going back down.
This has more to do with the French attitude than whoever you may be. A friend of mine was the chief interpreter on the Concord airliner project (late 60s and70s), fluent in French including several dialects. Once, when travelling on a train, he was holding a conversation with a French woman. crossing the Swiss border he was asked to show his passport. When the French woman noted he carried a UK passport she had trouble understanding him from that point onward… it’s part of their national psyche.
It truly feels like that when I am there.